Page 4 of The Mating Magic
Not for the first time, she wished she hadn’t told Lacey about the vial of potion she’d seen on the counter at Chase’s house, left out for the ColdfireWizard.
Too late for regrets. Just keep movingforward.
“Maybe we should forget about this.” Evie scanned the swamp. “It’s not too late. Surely Drust or one of the other wizards will know what we’redoing.”
“What I’m doing, not you. You’re merely the guinea pig, so if we’re caught, you’re blameless.” Lacey’s expression softened. “I would never get you into trouble. Me, I’m alreadyblacklisted.”
“ButDrust… “
“Screw the Coldfire Wizard,” Lacey snapped. “He’s never done me any favors. If I had five minutes alone with him, I’d give him a piece of mymind.”
Evie looked around nervously. “Careful, Lace. They say the wizards have earseverywhere.”
Lacey pushed at a stray lock of brown hair escaping her long braid. Sweat trickled down her face. “If that’s the case, then why didn’t Drust come to your rescue when the ogre threw you to the ground and scarred you? You could have been badly injured the way he tossed you out, but where was Drust, if he’s supposed to be our guardian and keep ussafe?”
Her sister snorted. “No, all those damn wizards do is enforce the rules and tell us what we shouldn’t do. They don’t care about ourfates.”
A flush filled her face as Evie’s hand automatically went to her marked left cheek. The ogre had been a bouncer at the Burkes’ prestigious Dragon Fire Ball and when he tossed Evie out on her ass, he’d left a permanent reminder never to visit the mansionagain.
“Drust only cares about his own family,” Lacey pointed out. “He’s immortal and the honored ancestor to the Burkes and other dragon families. Do you think he gives a rat’s ass about dragons lower on the social ladder? It’s a doublestandard.”
Evie saw her sister’s point. Drust cared about his descendants. His family were allowed to break rules while Evie and Lacey were supposed to followthem.
Lacey went to her and wrapped her in her arms, hugging her tight. “I love you, Evie. I’m sorry about Chase, but forget him. Anyone related to that cold-hearted Coldfire Wizard isn’t good enough foryou.”
Evie offered a wan smile. Hard to forget about the dragon you loved, even when his family didn’t approve ofyou.
She glanced overhead at the zipline. Humans, or Skins, as Otherworlders like herself and Lacey called them, liked adventures such asziplining.
“Let’s try the zip line and then head out. Come on, Lace. I’m in a mood to bereckless.”
Casting a doubtful eye at the sagging steel cable, Lacey considered. “I don’t know. Although if we fall, we can always shift and flyaway.”
Again the uneasy feeling came over Evie. Cutting the barbed wire fence, they had snuck onto the property in human form. An odd energy hummed in the air, as if warning themaway.
“You sure about this?” Laceyasked.
“Of course if you’rechicken…”
Evie turned and ran for the steps. “Losers have to clean the house this weekend,” she yelled over hershoulder.
Wood steps creaked under her weight. Evie climbed to the platform and looked at the triangular handle and safety harness used to secure a rider before heading across the swamp to the treetops on the other side. She tested it in her hands. Seemedokay.
After wriggling into the harness, she looked down at the alligator swamp. If anything, the gators seemed more active. Hungrier. One lifted its snout out of the water and snapped at theair.
“Oh yeah? You may look tough, big guy, but I’m a dragon and I can eat you for breakfast,” she calleddown.
Evie grasped the triangle with a firm grip. “Hey Lace, look atme!”
Her sister looked up. “Careful Evie. We should getgoing.”
“One ride across. That’s all, Ipromise.”
Silly her. She was the cautious one, stuck in the past. No longer. The memory of the Burkes’ rejection stung. After ingesting Lacey’s formula, she’d be nearly invincible and no one could ever hurt her like thatagain.
“Here I go!” she sang out, and jumped off theplatform.
With a squeaky whine, the zipline creaked downward toward the tree line. Evie laughed with pure joy.Look at me, poor little Evie, the dragon who can’t fly for long, dangling far above a pit ofhungry…
